The course description given in the course catalog is outdated and referred to the robotic arms used in previous versions of this class.
In this class we will explore a variety of robotic concepts necessary for working with small mobile robotics. The class will cover the acquisition and processing of sensor data, the use of effectors/motors, planning/navigation, object detection, and skills necessary to programming in a small microcontroller with limited memory and processing power rather than a modern PC with few such limitations. If we get new robot bodies in time, we will also look as simple robot vision and color blob tracking.
The prerequisites listed for this course are also out of date. If you have a good working knowledge of calculus and have passed data structures with a grade of c+ or better you will prepared for this course. If you do not have these, you ought to see me.
Books:Exams
There will be two exams in this class, a midterm and a final. The final has been scheduled by the college for Tuesday, May 12 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. The midterm will be on March 5th. If you have a legitimate reason for missing an exam, see your instructor before the scheduled exam time to arrange for reasonable accomidation. If you miss the exam without prior approval, you will forfeit the exam. (emergency room visits and the like excepted of course) Everything else (quizzes etc):Students with special needs:
Anyone who has special needs should contact me in the first week of classes so that reasonable accommodations can be agreed on.
Academic Integrity:
See The handbook section on academic integrity for a complete description of the academic integrity procedure at Bridgewater.
Academic integrity will be taken very seriously in this class. All individual work must be your own. If you cheat or otherwise represent the work of others as your own. You will receive an F for the course.
Guidelines for proper academic integrity:
All in class exams and quizzes are closed book and closed neighbor unless the class is explicily told otherwise. If you are found using a data storage device of any kind during one of these evaluations, you will be failed for the course.
The papers are to be your own work. I can and often do type entire sentances into google to see if someone else has written the same thing. Large segments of "your" paper being on-line with someone elses name attached will result in an academic integrity hearing.
Standards for in class behavior:
You are all adults and are expected to act as adults in this class. While questions are encouraged in this class, if a particular line of questioning is taking us too far afield, I will ask the student to come by my office hours or to see me after class.
Cell phones, pagers, electronic organizers and other devises should be silenced while in class. If you work of EMS or something similar, please turn your cell phones/ pagers etc to vibrate mode so that you are not disrupting others in the class.
In the unlikely case of trouble makers in the class, those who are simply attempting to disrupt the class will be asked to stop; those who will not, will be referred to the college for appropriate action.
Week | Topic | Assignment |
Week 1 | Introduction, History of robotics. | |
Week 2 | Sensors and locamotion | |
Week 3 | overview of robot control paradigms and Hierarchical robot control Summary |
|
Week 4 | Reactive robot control | |
Week 5 | Designing reactive robots | |
Week 6 | Hybrid robot control and exam | |
Week 7 | Navigation | |
Week 8 | Navigation and space | |
Week 9 | Robotic Vision?? | |
Week 10 | Robotic Vision II ?? | |
Week 11 | Multi-robot systems | |
Week 12 | Robot demo slip time | |
Week 13 | Localization and Mapping (SLAM?) | |
Week 14 | finishing up and review for final | |